The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective, Vol. 1

By: Hollywood 360

Narrated by: Howard Duff, full cast

Dashiell Hammett created the character Sam Spade for his crime story The Maltese Falcon. Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and an unflinching determination to exact his own justice. For most people, Spade is most closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played him in the third and most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon. In 1946 one of radio's top producers, William Spier, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves in a radio show starring newcomer Howard Duff, who took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character. Duff remained Spade until 1951.

Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the new series, and Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) played Spade's secretary, Effie Perrine. In 1947 the program won scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America.

©2014 Hollywood 360 (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

The greatest Radio Detective ever

I will always love Bogarts Sam Spade, his performance in the Maltese Falcon is legendary. But Howard Duff does a great job on this radio show. He gives a more tongue an cheek version of Sam Spade. The stories are both funny and thrilling, and entertaining